Verdict: 6 years for the killing or Roma Lonergan

Jos van der Ven (31) is sentenced to 6 years in jail for the killing of his Irish ex- girlfriend Roma Lonergan (27) in June last year in her house in Geertvliet. Van der Ven killed her in a frenzy of jealousy. Jos van der Ven (31) was found guilty of manslaughter for which 15 years is the maximum penalty.

Roma Lonergan (27), from Cahir, Co Tipperary, was horrifically knifed to death. A huge manhunt was launched after the popular supermarket assistant vanished without trace.

In court for the verdict her mother, Mary Lonergan-Poldervaart, who comes from Lissaveigh outside Cahir, said: "I am completely numbed, I am speechless." She added that even if Roma’s ex-boyfriend had received the punishment he deserved "it would still not bring her back".

Sentencing Van der Ven, a chemicals factory process operator, Presiding Judge Pieter Santema said there were real fears he could do the same again given similar circumstances. According to psychiatric reports Van der Ven was dangerously obsessed with his ex-girlfriend and refused to accept her decision to end their relationship. To protect future potential victims the court ordered that when his custodial sentence had been served he should receive psychiatric treatment.

Van der Ven was Roma’s first boyfriend. The couple had lived together for seven years, but more than a year before her death Roma moved out of the apartment they shared and set about re-building her life while remaining on friendly terms with her ex-boyfriend.

Shortly before her death, Roma had started a relationship with a Dutch-based Irishman, which according to her friends enraged Van der Ven. Two weeks after sending her 27 red roses to mark her 27th birthday he went to her house, and after a struggle ripped her mouth open with his pen knife before cutting her throat on the bathroom floor. The State Prosecutor told how he then cleaned away all the blood and dumped his girlfriend’s body in a shallow grave on wasteground a few miles away. The court ordered Van der Ven to pay 10,917 guilders (around £3,600) in compensation towards her funeral expenses.

Verdict: 6 years for the killing or Roma Lonergan

Jos van der Ven (31) is sentenced to 6 years in jail for the killing of his Irish ex- girlfriend Roma Lonergan (27) in June last year in her house in Geertvliet. Van der Ven killed her in a frenzy of jealousy. Jos van der Ven (31) was found guilty of manslaughter for which 15 years is the maximum penalty.

Roma Lonergan (27), from Cahir, Co Tipperary, was horrifically knifed to death. A huge manhunt was launched after the popular supermarket assistant vanished without trace.

In court for the verdict her mother, Mary Lonergan-Poldervaart, who comes from Lissaveigh outside Cahir, said: "I am completely numbed, I am speechless." She added that even if Roma’s ex-boyfriend had received the punishment he deserved "it would still not bring her back".

Sentencing Van der Ven, a chemicals factory process operator, Presiding Judge Pieter Santema said there were real fears he could do the same again given similar circumstances. According to psychiatric reports Van der Ven was dangerously obsessed with his ex-girlfriend and refused to accept her decision to end their relationship. To protect future potential victims the court ordered that when his custodial sentence had been served he should receive psychiatric treatment.

Van der Ven was Roma’s first boyfriend. The couple had lived together for seven years, but more than a year before her death Roma moved out of the apartment they shared and set about re-building her life while remaining on friendly terms with her ex-boyfriend.

Shortly before her death, Roma had started a relationship with a Dutch-based Irishman, which according to her friends enraged Van der Ven. Two weeks after sending her 27 red roses to mark her 27th birthday he went to her house, and after a struggle ripped her mouth open with his pen knife before cutting her throat on the bathroom floor. The State Prosecutor told how he then cleaned away all the blood and dumped his girlfriend’s body in a shallow grave on wasteground a few miles away. The court ordered Van der Ven to pay 10,917 guilders (around £3,600) in compensation towards her funeral expenses.